Iconic actor Sam Neill has slammed scammers for trying to take advantage of his fans by impersonating him online.
Asking his assistant, Lauren, to post on Instagram on his behalf, Neill wanted to clear the air over which account is really his, showing fans that the social media platform is inundated with fake accounts.
“Sam has asked me to post on here to share with his followers an idea of the number of fake Sam Neill accounts out there on Instagram,” Lauren began the lengthy post.
“The ONLY real Sam Neill account is this one – with the blue verified tick (circled in the image). Sam will never contact you on social media from an unverified account.!! That’ll be a scammer!!
“He will never write to you to ask you to continue the conversation on another platform (WhatsApp/Telegram/Hangouts etc).!! S.C.A.M.M.E.R!!
“Sam will never use social media to ask you for bitcoin, money to get out of a foreign jail or for you to send a Western Union transfer to attend a private event with him.!! Definitely a scammer.!!
“He won’t be trying to send you a diamond ring from Sri Lanka (that you then need to pay customs fees for) !! That scammer is at it again.!!
“Sam doesn’t have a private account he keeps secret from his social media team, so he can to speak directly to followers!! Scammer at work here!!
“He definitely isn’t having an online romantic relationship with you.!!That’s the trash bag scammer wasting your time, potentially breaking your heart and disappearing with your money.!!
“And I can one hundred percent guarantee he doesn’t have a social media ‘management team’ communicating with you from randomly named unverified accounts!! Scammer alert again!!!
Lauren said that Neill often enjoys reading the comments left on his account by his fans, but clarified he doesn’t respond to them privately.
“I’m saddened by the stories I hear every day of people who have fallen victim to these disgraceful, despicable scammers. Their sole purpose is exploiting peoples weaknesses and lonely hearts. It’s shameful and disgusting and both Sam and I are committed to bringing this to light,” she said.
However, Neill isn’t the only high profile figure whose identity is being used to scam people.
Sunrise host David ‘Kochie’ Koch has also recently been caught in the centre of an onslaught of “out of control” scams.
The TV presenter took to Instagram to share his frustrations and warn people of the current scams illegally using his likeness, one under the guise of “the scandal that left everybody shocked” and the other claiming to know how the financial expert makes money.
“Beware… 2023 and the financial scams keep on coming more than ever,” he said.
“The one on the left came up on @realestateaus as I was scrolling the site. The one on the right was sent to me yesterday from @instagram .
“They are scams trying to con you by illegally using my image and attributing fictitious comments to me.”